Essays on the Recordhttps://essaysontherecord.wordpress.com
Commentary on national, local, and sports related storiesMon, 10 Apr 2017 02:58:54 +0000enhourly1http://wordpress.com/https://essaysontherecord.files.wordpress.com/2017/02/cropped-picture1.png?w=32Essays on the Recordhttps://essaysontherecord.wordpress.com
3232The Cost of Free Higher Educationhttps://essaysontherecord.wordpress.com/2017/02/26/the-cost-of-free-higher-education/
https://essaysontherecord.wordpress.com/2017/02/26/the-cost-of-free-higher-education/#respondSun, 26 Feb 2017 05:43:28 +0000http://essaysontherecord.wordpress.com/?p=61]]>In recent weeks, New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo has been talking about a plan to make college at state universities free for residents of the state. This plan has been met with cautious optimism from residents of NY, even though the question still looms about how it’s all going to be paid for.

A surprising place I’ve found resistance to this plan has been the liberal arts university that I attended in upstate NY. I’ll withhold the name of the school, but I received what I believe to be a world class education. I wasn’t only given facts, dates, and events to memorize, I was educated to see the world complexly and think critically. Despite the crushing student load debt I’m still paying for from my schooling, I still believe it was worth it to be a student there because of the person they helped me become. I’ve always thought the world of this school and their commitment to being an educational institution that strives to create good citizens of the world.

That made the email they sent to me all the more confusing. The argument being made was that more students would choose free state education over their more expensive private education, and we as alumni were encouraged to speak out against this program. This flies in the face of the very liberal arts education I received from this school. We were taught to think ethically about all situations, to critically examine things and see them from perspectives beyond our own, but that doesn’t seem to be what the school is doing. They’re even encouraging former students to used the college’s mailing address if they live out of state to make sure their protests are paid attention to in Albany.

When looking at this program, it’s clear that more students in NYS will inevitably be able to receive higher education, but it will ultimately be harder on smaller private colleges to keep enrollment up. So the school’s reaction is to abandon the very style of thinking they taught me for four years, and act in the spirit of self interest.

So I suppose the conflict I find myself in goes something like this: Do I support the school I am so fiercely loyal to and have been proud of up until now, or do I act on the education I received and support free college tuition for all residents of the state, because that would be acting in the interest of more than my just my sphere of interest?

I love my alma mater and I’m proud to have attended there, but on this issue they’ve lost me. They taught me to stand with the marginalized, the people on the outside, and truly be a scholar servant. That means opening doors to as many potential students as possible to higher education. That world class liberal arts education I received it still a draw, and with any luck, will survive this shift in the way education is done statewide.

Essays on the Record

]]>https://essaysontherecord.wordpress.com/2017/02/26/the-cost-of-free-higher-education/feed/0peopleoutside80_focusakismet-a0e84df4e0667811b49300d34e89b1f4Commentary, Not Journalismhttps://essaysontherecord.wordpress.com/2017/02/22/first-blog-post/
https://essaysontherecord.wordpress.com/2017/02/22/first-blog-post/#respondWed, 22 Feb 2017 19:25:35 +0000http://essaysontherecord.wordpress.com/?p=6]]>I’ve always had a deep respect and admiration for journalism and those noble enough to devote themselves to the profession. The service they provide to our national discourse is invaluable, and the impact they have on our local cities and communities is immeasurable. They are the mirror we as a society often need to have held up to us to see what we’ve become, and what changes we night need to me.

I myself am a particular fan of print journalism, but work of those in the public radio, and television journalists is equally important. No matter the format or medium, this is work necessary to the maintenance and furtherment of our democracy, and of humanity as a whole. We as private citizens can’t compile all the raw data and interview all the sources we need to make an informed decisions. We need a proxy; someone who will stand in our stead and ask powerful people the important questions of who, what, where, when, why, and how.

This is probably the reason I have a Clark Kent action figure on my desk, rather than Superman.

What I’m doing here it not journalism by any stretch of the imagination. 15 to 20 years ago I wouldn’t have had to say that (yes, the internet has been widely accessible that long), but in the world we live in, where every article linked in a tweet can be widely shared and re-shared by an elected representative, I felt it was an important distinction to make. No, this is not news, it’s simply a commentary on the news of the day.

This series of editorials will cover national news, news local to my hometown of Buffalo, NY, and occasionally issues of sports and technology and gadgets. An eclectic collection of topics to be sure, but I was raised with the somewhat cliche advice to write what you know about, and these are topics I’m familiar with.

I don’t shill or tow the line for any one political party or line of thinking. Like the majority of people in the world, I’d argue my perspectives come from a variety of different and sometimes even conflicting beliefs. The commentary here will be my attempt to inject a moderate and well reasoned voice into the conversation of current events.

To go back and read this first post of a news commentary blog means there’s at least some interest in the overall content and themes of this site. If you’re reading this I hope you continue to read with me.